The Final Desicion
by Regaime Seishi
Summary: Inuyasha is put into a position were he has to choose between Kagome and Kikyo. 'If this was his final decision, then so be it. She couldn’t change it anyways.' beware of fluff!


The Final Decision

A/n- this is just a little shorty I thought up and decided to write down. Well, actually I didn't think it up, my brain did, while I was sleeping. So it was a dream, but I wrote it so…whatever, just enjoy. I don't even have a title for it yet.

It wasn't too long ago that Naraku had been defeated. But even though their goal was completed, Miroku and Sango had stayed with Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo, bound by friendship. The sacred jewel was almost complete, and only a few shards remained before it was whole. Right now the group was taking a rest after long hours of wandering the Warring States era for the missing pieces of the Shikon Jewel. The girls made a small campfire and cooked lunch while the guys sat around doing nothing to help, as usual.

Inuyasha sniffed the air suddenly and stiffened. He knew that smell; it was the smell of clay and bones, mixed with cherry blossoms. Instantly, his mind roamed to find the one it belonged to, and it did not have to wait long. This person was almost always on his mind.

"Is something wrong Inuyasha?" asked Kagome when the Hanyou stood up and began walking away.

"I'm just checking something out," he replied, partially lying.

"Do you want us to come?" Miroku asked, getting up as well.

"No." Inuyasha said flatly, disappearing into the forest the group had settled by its borders momentarily. Everyone stood staring at the spot, blinking in confuse.

"I wonder what got his attention so quickly," Sango said, pondering this. Kagome lowered her head and slouched her shoulders, frowning.

"There's only one thing that could have attracted him so quickly," she said, getting up, "I'm going to…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say. It was definitely Kikyo, or else he wouldn't have had that lost look in his eyes. What was she to say anyways, that she was going to make sure Kikyo didn't kill him? That would make it spying though, right?

She got up and entered the forest where Inuyasha had, carrying her bow and quiver. Somehow her revived reincarnation seemed to worry her, but that was no surprise really. Kikyo had tried to harm Inuyasha many times; he had almost DIED because she gave the jewel shards to Naraku! SHE had tried to bring him down into hell, right in front of herself! Kagome broke into a run, trying best to follow the path Inuyasha had made through the brush. 'I hope he's okay!' she thought wildly, 'Damn you Inuyasha, you'd _better_ be okay!'

"K-Kikyo?" Inuyasha stammered, stopping on a knoll and facing the one who was always tormenting his mind. The dead woman smiled, and strode closer to the lovesick Hanyou.

"So, Inuyasha, you followed my scent again, hoping to flatter me now that our enemy is dead." Her dark smile broadened, "Isn't that right, Inuyasha?"

"Then you understand," he began, "Without Naraku we can be together! The jewel is almost complete, and I can use it just as we first planned; I'll prove I have kept my promise! Kikyo—"

The tragic priestess raised her hand suddenly and sent a shot of spiritual energy through her fingers. It struck Inuyasha in the forehead, piercing though him as though he was translucent. It left no scar, but it froze him.

"You are rendered paralyzed, Inuyasha," Kikyo stated.

'I can't move!' Inuyasha's mind screamed, 'Kikyo, why!'

"I hoped to listen to a more worthy speech from you Inuyasha, but you are so pathetic," she laughed darkly, drawing her bow.

Inuyasha tried to furrow his brow in distress of her actions, but a burst of pain shot through his head. He winced, which only set off the pain more. Kikyo could see his discomfort, and again laughed.

"Try and move all you like, it doesn't matter to me. The more you move, the more it will burn up your mind."

'Kikyo, why!'

"What are you thinking Inuyasha? Are you feeling betrayed?"

'Is it another one of Naraku's tricks? Is he still alive!'

"If you are thinking I might be Naraku, you are mistaken. I have longed to see you such as this for a long time."

'But Kikyo—!' He couldn't understand it, why was she doing this! He still loved her, no matter what!

"When I told you your life was mine, you said the same. But, the thing you are wrong about, is that now I am free to do whatever I wish. After you, I shall get rid of that pathetic reincarnation and regain the soul that is rightfully mine! She will not interfere this time! I _will_ become fully human again!" The crazed woman drew two arrows and strung her bow with them, letting them loose upon Inuyasha. As the sacred arrows struck his chest, one in the left lung, and one in the gut below the stomach, one name ran through his mind.

'Kagome!'

"Inuyasha, please be alright!" Kagome cried as she tore through the foliage. Something was telling her to run faster, lest she be too late. She slowed when she heard voices, definitely Kikyo's, but she couldn't hear Inuyasha. He was probably hugging her and whispering in her ear…

"…I have longed to see you such as this for a long time..."

'Oh great,' Kagome thought, 'they're probably naked with each other…why am _I_ here!' She could feel tears welling up in her eyes; Inuyasha had seemed to like her ok, but he would never want to…not that SHE wanted to, but if he was doing the big IT with Kikyo, then… "I'm really alone…"

"…I am free to do whatever I wish. After you, I shall get rid of that pathetic reincarnation and regain the soul that is rightfully mine! She will not interfere this time!"

It took a second for Kagome to realize that this was not normal lover behavior. 'That leaves one thing', she thought, bursting through the bushes into the clearing to see Inuyasha get struck with arrows. The force threw him back, and he landed roughly on the ground.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome cried, instantly at his side.

'Kagome—!'

Kikyo's attack broke the immobility spell and Inuyasha cringed with pain. His breathing was raspy, and uneven due to the arrow that pretty much blew his lung out.

"Inuyasha can you hear me!" Kagome cried in distress, "Say something! Inuyasha!"

"Ka-Kagome?" he wheezed, gasping from the effort it took.

"Lay still, don't try and move." She told him, getting up and turning to Kikyo.

"Why did you do that!" she demanded, her tears falling freely.

"I said you would not interfere, now move!" Kikyo ordered, drawing another arrow, "I will finish him off, and you will not stop me! MOVE!"

"I won't!" Kagome yelled stubbornly, "I won't let you kill Inuyasha!" She balled her hands into fists, the wood from her bow digging into her palm. "You don't get it!" she continued, "Inuyasha still loves you!"

"I died for him, now I will take his life as payment!"

"He didn't even know you had died when I first met him!" Kagome shrieked, "It's not his fault you died! You chose to die instead of using the jewel to live! It was YOUR DECISION!" Kagome panted after all of this, her eyes flaming with determination. "I won't let you kill him!"

"Then I will kill you too. I was going to do so anyway," Kikyo concluded.

"Just try it!" Kagome shot back.

Kikyo let her arrow fly, whizzing towards Kagome with amazing speed. But it failed to destroy the fearless spark in her, and she raised her bow, batting it away. The arrow landed on the ground, unused.

Kikyo's face clenched in anger, and she tried to strike Kagome down again, but failed as well. Kagome kept blocking her attacks, coming closer the whole time, her eyes burning. The particular thing though, was that instead of burning with hatred, they were filled with love, which only angered the dead priestess more.

"What are you hoping to do wench!" Kikyo demanded, backing up a ways, "Are you hoping to kill me? What would Inuyasha think if you did that?"

"You'd better leave us alone!" Kagome threatened, walking closer, "If you try and kill him, I will stop you!"

At these words, the young Miko's body began to glow with an unknown light. Kikyo gasped and clutched her chest as she figured out what was happening. A sucking feeling rose inside her, and the empty void within her grew as Kagome became brighter.

"No!" she cried in distress, "This soul is mine!" she backed away more, trying to fight the pull on her spirit. Then it exploded from her: all the souls she had collected and the one that belonged to herself, that Kagome was calling back. As the soul entered Kagome, Kikyo fell limp to the ground, and the wind blew away her lifeless body.

Barely a moment had passed when Kagome dropped her bow and turned to Inuyasha, tears in her eyes. He could hate her all he wanted to now that Kikyo was dead, but at least now she couldn't try and kill him. Kagome knew she would never have been able to live with herself if that happened; she loved him too much! Now Kikyo was where she belonged, and things were as they should.

"Inuyasha are you alright!" she cried, running over to him, "Sorry, stupid question, of course you're not ok, you have two arrows sticking out of you! Does it hurt? Never mind, another obvious yes. I can't believe she'd do that to you, it's just so—"

"Kagome—?" Inuyasha interrupted, "You're—babbling—"

"Sorry," she replied, her tears obstructing her vision, "I'm sorry I didn't get here faster. Um…you're probably mad at me…cuz, I well, I didn't mean to, but—"

She stopped suddenly when she saw Inuyasha laughing, or as close as he could get to laughing in his wounded state.

"Sorry," she apologized again, "But, Kikyo—"

"Kagome—" Inuyasha interrupted again, forcing himself to a sitting position, clutching his stomach, "In the end, you—saved my life." He winced as his chest throbbed, and thick blood poured from his wound in crimson torrents.

"You mean, you're not mad?" she asked in disbelief. Inuyasha shook his head, his eyes growing unfocused.

"I—…thanks—" he forced out, before falling unconscious.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, as he collapsed, "Shit, what do I do? I can't carry him, and I don't want to leave him to get Kirara, and—" she looked up suddenly, hearing a familiar roar from the sky.

"Kagome?" Sango called, alighting on the small plateau and jumping off, along with Shippo and Miroku, "What happened to Inuyasha?"

"He's hurt, hurry!" she answered, and the group quickly was able to get him back to camp.

It was three days later and still Inuyasha was asleep. He lay now in Kaede's hut, his wounds bandaged. Kagome hadn't left his side since they arrived, and hadn't before that either. She had neither eaten, nor slept in that time, and only tended to Inuyasha. The others urged her to rest, but she was determined to be there when he awoke. 'If he does…' she thought, instantly shaking her head, 'Don't think that! Of course he'll wake up! He still has a pulse, doesn't he!' She sighed, and stared at his peaceful face, smooth without the deep grooves of thought.

She had been thinking a lot though, since they arrived in Edo, about what she would say when he came to. He hadn't been mad at her before, but he had been seriously injured. 'He _had_ to be delirious,' she thought, 'I mean, he was _laughing_ wasn't he? So he's _certain_ to be angry once he knows what really happened!' It didn't matter to her though, he could hate her just fine, but in a hundred other opportunities, she would have done the same thing.

Still, what if he didn't want anything to do with her now that Kikyo was gone, and it was her fault? What if he didn't like her anymore? What if he was mad at her?

"Oh Inuyasha," she sighed out loud, "I was only trying to help, please understand…you were hurt…you could've died…and I love you _so much_…" she let the tears fall onto his face without shame.

He stirred suddenly, and cracked open one eye to look at her depressed state. Her eyes brightened immediately, and her tears fell more.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed, her face dropping immediately, 'I'm scared. Now I have to tell him the truth. What if he hates me?'

The weakened Hanyou turned his head to look at her better and grasped her hand, pulling her towards him. His eyes were glazed over, and seemed to stare mystically at her.

"Inuyasha—" she squeaked, his eyes unnerving her.

"Kagome…" he whispered when he had pulled her nearly to his face, "I love you too…" Kagome's eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by his declaration.

"You heard that?" she exclaimed. Inuyasha nodded, smiling slightly.

"You were blubbering again," he commented. Kagome flushed deeply, both by his words and the attraction of his smile.

"You mean, you're not mad?" she verified in a small voice.

"I told you before, you saved my life." He shook his head.

"But I killed Kikyo!" she protested, "Aren't you just a little bit upset?"

"She was going to kill you…I was scared," he replied.

"For me?" she asked, receiving a nod.

"Besides, that wasn't the Kikyo I used to know; I'm not even sure I really loved her…but I'm positive about you!" his brow furrowed with fierceness that almost scared Kagome, if not for the look of love buried in his eyes as well.

'I don't believe—how I could have thought—he hated me!' she thought as he pulled her even closer. Their lips locked together, and streams of passion flowed through them.

In the sky, Kikyo's spirit watched this touching moment. If this was his final decision, then so be it. She couldn't change it anyways.

A/n- random notes…well, not really…

I hope you liked it. Seven pages turned out to be a little more than a really long chapter, but I think I did ok, so, screw it. I find I like more to read anyway.

Hanyouhalf demon

Mikopriestess

Edovillage where Kaede lives, that grows and becomes Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Oh wait… YES I DOOO! HE'S ALL MINE! MWAHAHAHAA! denial ensues

Random sadistic chipmunks singing: evil, we're so evil. We will keeeel, those who get in our way…


End file.
